Conveyer mechanism for pressure cookers



y 1951 A. R. THOMPSON 2,551,981

CONVEYER MECHANISM FOR PRESSURE COOKERS Original Filed April 20, 1942 4Sheets-Sheet 1 FlE l INVENTOR I4/ber/ 2. Thompson GWQW ATTORNEY y 1951A. R. THOMPSON 2,551,981

CONVEYER MECHANISM FOR PRESSURE COOKERS Original Filed April 20, 1942 4Sheets-Sheet 2 FIE E mvzu'ron Awe/f2. Thompson ATTORN Y y 19531 A. R.THOMPSON 2,551,9E

CONVEYER MECHANISM FOR PRESSURE COOKERS Original Filed April 20, 1942 4SheetsSheet 3 INVENTQR A/ber/ ,8. Thompson ATTORNEY May 8, 19511 A.R..THOMPSON CONVEYER MECHANISM FOR PRESSURE COOKERS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4Original Filed April 20. 1942 Mu. R0,. H mm N NM R w 4 m m2 M d 4 G Y BUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CON VEYER MECHANISM FOR PRES SURE COOKERSAlbert R. Thompson, Los Gatos, Calif assignor .to Food Machinery andChemical Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Original applicationApril 20, 1942, Serial No.

439,738, now Patent No. 2,389,330, dated November 20, 1945.Dividedandthis application June 18,1945, Serial No.

5 Claims.

1 This invention relates to pressure cookers and is concerned moreparticularly with the provision of an improved pressure cooker adaptedfor use in the processing of dried .fruit 'such as prunes. v ofthepressure cooker.

This application 'is a division of my copend- Referring to Figs. land 2,the cooker includes ing application for Valve Mechanism for Presa casingl which may be supported by suitable sure Cooker which was filed intheUnited States standards II The casing In encloses a draper Patent OfiiceApril 20, 1942, Serial No. 439,738, or conveyor indicated generally atl2 to which now Patent No. 2,389,330 granted November 20, the prunes arefed by intake valve mechanism 1945. I indicated generally at [3. Thedischarge end of "It is a general object of the invention to pro- 7 theconveyor 1s associated with a similar disvide a pressure cooker for usein treating or chargevalve mechanism I4. The valve mechaprocessing driedprunes wherein the prunes are v nisms l3 and M are similar and will bedescribed subjected to steam under pressure for a desired in detailhereinafter. interval of time. The casing I0 is generally cylindrical inform Another object of the invention is to "provide and is closed at itsends by similar covers I6, I So. a pressure cooker of the characterreferred to To detachably secure the covers in place, each which isconstructed to avoid 'gumming or stick- 0 cover is provided with aplurality of suitable ing of the parts because of the sticky character 2k ts 11, each of which is engaged by a wing of getguit landtledf th t tr V de nut I: 'threadeldbtio a bolt I 9 carligd by the cas- 0 r 0 l c ev 1' 18 p 0 1 ing A sui a e sea ing ring. may beproan improved form ofv'30IWey0r Whlch W111 hanfile vided in a recessedboss 22 of each of thecovers stick fruits such as prunes without becoming 26 to engage thecasing to insure a fight joint gummed and without requiring frequenticleanwithin thepcasing lo, a, steam pipe 26 may-be mg or servlculgpr vded (Figs. ,1 and,2) to which steam under Another ob ect of thelnventlon .lS to provide pressure maybesuppliedif desired with? sunk-van Improved cooker wheljem melchamsm able thermostat control (notshown). Suitable Q F the prunes 1s removaby moun e cleanout pipesmay'beprovided in the lowerpor- Within the cooker. I 3" tion of casing vl l],

Aiwther obJect of the .mvent1n Is to piovlde Atthe feed end of thecooker, the casing is an improved cooker having a conveyor slldablyapertured t J y o commumcate with the housing 3| mounted therewithln forinstallation and re- I V of .the-lntake valve 13. Housing 3| hasasuitmoval and adapted torbe operated from the dlsable flange :32 whichis su rted u on and charge valve operating mechanism by a driving 35 ppop connection detachable fromthe cooker. cured to alfianged Supportsultably sgcured Other objects and advantages of the invenas "9 x m f anoPemng former? m F tion will be apparent from the followingdescripcasing he hmtsmg Includes acylmdncal tionof a-preferredembodiment'thereof, as illus- Wan 3 Whlch racemes a Valve 9 36 Securedtrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: 40 on transvgrse t '37 aev Series of Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional viewtransverselrextendmg Rockets through the intake valve of the cooker;The$pc1fiQ wylstructwn 0f the 9 1 36 and vFig 2 is a similar sectional,viewthmughthe its mounting '15 similar to that of the dischargedischarge valve of the cooker; valve IA =and will be described inconnection with Fig 3 is a transverse Sectional View through the lattervalve. For the presentpit is sufficient the discharge valve of thecooker as indicated to pi l a l lflhat the Pockets 8 successively by thline 3 3 fFjg regis er W1 a 'eed- 0pening39 and a discharge Fig. 4 is aplan viewof-a portion of the draper; Ope ing 4| and receive charges ofprunes in a Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view controlledmanner m a t m n a v 2 w ich taken along the line 5-5 -of-Fig 4; and isin the form of a gate secured on shaft 43 and Fig. 6 is a verticaltransverse sectional view xtending the fulllength 0 the pockets Thetaken-along th 1i v 6 ffin 4, shaft '43 is supported by suitablebearings on a The figures illustrate that portion of a presfeed h pp r44 whichis secured on valve houssure cooker necessary to show thestructure of ing'3l. sPrunes are fed tothe hopper 44 by suitthe presentinvention, a complete disclosure of able feed means such as a belt orshaker conthe pressure cooker being contained in my said copendingapplication, Serial No. 439,738, of which the present application is adivision, reference being made thereto for a detail disclosure veyor(not shown) which provides a relatively constant rate of feed.

The timing valve 42 operates to periodically open and close the feedopening 39 so that when a desired amount is deposited in a pocket 38,the feed of prunes is interrupted until the next pocket 38 is inposition to receive prunes. This operation will be described in detaillater.

To drive the timing valve 42, the shaft 43 carries an arm 46 (Fig. 1)which is connected by an adjustable link 41 with a drive disk 48 securedon shaft 49 suitably supported on housing 3|.

Shaft 49 carries a pinion 5I meshing with a large gear 52 secured onshaft 31 and forming the drive gear for the valve rotor. Gear 52 mesheswith a pinion 53 on shaft 54 which carries a worm gear 56 meshing with asuitable worm 51 on shaft 58. The shaft 58 extends through the wall ofthe cooker I0. Shaft 58 which is disposed in suitable spaced relation tothe exterior of the cooker, extends lengthwise of said cooker, as shownin Figs. 1 and 3, and is adapted to be driven from a variable speedmotor or other source of power (not shown).

From the above description it will be seen that the valve 36 and drivedisc 48 for the timing valve 42 are driven in a timed relation to eachother and the timing is such that the timing valve 42 will operate oncefor each pocket 38. The parts are shown in Fig. '1 at the beginning ofthe stroke of the timing valve 42 which first travels slowly and justahead of the rear wall of the adjacent pocket 38 and then more speedilyuntil it approaches its closing position when it will slow down as itcuts off the flow of prunes. The flow of prunes is out off before therear wall a of the pocket reaches the section 35 of the cylindrical wallto the right of the feed opening 39. Wall section 35 is of sufficientlength so that the pocket engaged therewith is closed from both the feedand the discharge passages to maintain the pressure within the cooker.

Discharge of the prunes from the pockets 38 is facilitated by a recessedportion 6| in housing 3I whose height is such with respect to the shapeof the pocket 38 that no prunes will contact the wall 35 before theleading edge of the pocket reaches the recessed portion 6|.

The prunes from the feed pockets 38 are discharged onto the conveyor ordraper I2. The draper assembly I2 is constructed as a unit and isremovably mounted within the housing so as to be readily installed andwithdrawn therefrom as necessary for repair or cleaning. For thispurpose, the casing I is provided with opposite parallel tracks 66 (Fig.3) in the form of inverted channel irons mounted on suitable brackets 61and secured thereon as by welding. The tracks 66 extend lengthwise ofthe casing I0 being spaced a suitable distance inwardly from theinterior wall of said casing. As shown in Fig. 3, the draper frameincludes upper and lower longitudinal angles 68 which are connected bysuitable cross angles 69 and upright angles I0 (see also Figs. 1 and 2).The lower longitudinal angles 68 of the draper frame rest upon thetracks 66.

Mounted for movement on the draper frame is a draper II which comprisesa series of substantially U-shaped cross bars I2 (Figs. 4 and Each crossbar I2 has its ends riveted to respective links of a pair of oppositechains. Adjacent links 13 of each chain are joined by a pivotalconnecting pin I4. The bars I2 are connected at a central pointintermediate the adjacent pivots I4 of the chain so that the spacebetween a pair of adjacent bars I2 coincides with the pivotal axis ofthe pins I4 for the chain links I3 to which such bars are connected. Theflanges of the U-shaped bars I2 are preferably converging as shown inFig. 5 so that the bars can move around the curved paths at the ends ofthe draper without interference.

As shown in Fig. 1 the drive chains are engaged at one end by a pair ofidler sprockets I5 journalled in suitable bearings I6 adjustably mountedin guides TI on the draper frame. The drive chains are engaged at theirdrive end by drive sprockets 6| (Figs. 2 and 3) secured on a shaft 82journalled in suitable bearings 83 on the draper frame. As seen in Fig.3, the shaft 82 has an endwise releasable drive coupling 84 With astub-drive shaft 86 suitably journalled in a hearing 81 removablysecured on the exterior of the casing I0. Shaft 86 extends outwardlyfrom the exterior of the casing I0 and carries a sprocket 88 which isdriven through chain 89 from a sprocket 9I on shaft 92 referred tohereinafter.

Because of the releasable drive coupling 84, the draper can be removedfrom the casing by removing the bearing 8! with the shaft 86 and by alsoremoving the cover I6 at the intake end of the casing. After which theentire draper assembly can be withdrawn endwise from the casing.

Means are provided for confining the fruit to the width of the draper asit is carried thereby. For this purpose, alternate links I3 of the chaineach carry a wing 96 (Figs. 4, 5 and 6) which converge from the topdownwardly as seen in Fig. 5. The bottom portion of each wing extendsacross the two adjacent bars I2 so that as the bars pass around thesprockets at the ends of the draper, the unfolding of the wings 96 stillpresents a solid wall to prevent sidewise fall of the fruit from theconveyor. This condition is seen in Fig. 2.

From the conveyor, the prunes are discharged through a discharge hopperIOI (Fig. 2) which is supported from the housing of the discharge valvemechanism and projects upwardly therefrom within the interior of thecasing I0 of the cooker. The main body of the hopper IOI is U-shaped andhas its parallel sides cut away to conform to the end of the draper withflared portions IOIa to receive and guide the wings 96.

A timing valve or gate I03 is provided in the hopper IOI which issimilar to the timing valve 42. A guard I02 is fixed to the casing I0 atthe open side of the hopper IIII. The timing valve I03 is secured on ashaft I04 having its bearings I06 carried by the side walls of thehopper IOI. The shaft I04 carries an arm I01 which is pivotallyconnected to an adjustable link I08 having its other end pivotallysecured to a drive disc I09 on shaft III. Shaft III is carried bysuitable brackets on the housing II2 of the discharge valve.

Shaft III (Fig. 2) carries a pinion II3 which meshes with a large gearII4 (Figs. 4 and 5) on shaft 92. Gear II4 meshes with a drive pinion II6on shaft III which carries a worm wheel 99 driven from worm I I8 onshaft 58.

Arranged to receive prunes from the timing valve I03 is a rotor ordischarge valve I2I secured on shaft 92, shaft 92 being journalled insealed bearings I22 of housing H2. The valve I2 I is provided with aseries of pockets I23 formed between radial walls I24 and end walls I26of the rotor. The radial walls I24 are slotted to receive a pair ofsealing vanes I21 and I28, (Fig. 2). As

seen in Fig. 3, a plurality of compression springs I29 are disposedwithin the slotted walls I24 behind the inner vane whose ends arecutaway to conform to the contour of the slot. Pressure from the springsI29] is transmitted to the outer vane I28 whose ends extend intoopenings in the end walls I26 and ride on tracks I3I provided in thehousing H2. A suitable lateral seal ring I32 of conventional splitconstruction is provided at each side of the rotor at the ends of thevanes I28. Each ring I32 is held against rotation with the rotor by plugI35 having a pilot portion removably engaging an aperture in the ring.Each ring I32 is urged against the rotor I2I adjacent the upper portionsthereof by springs I33 seated in suitable recesses in the housing.Against its lower portion the ring I32 is engaged by springs I seated inscrew plugs I35a. Thus the space within the casing is sealed againstescape of pressure through the feed opening I34, past the rotor and todischarge opening I33 (Fig. 2). Plug I35 when removed provides forendwise withdrawal of the vanes I28. Intake valve I3 is similarlyconstructed.

The housing II2 (Fig. 2) is provided with a cylindrical wall portion I33over which the vanes travel in passing from the discharge to the feed Iopening and a cylindrical wall portion I3'I-over which the vanes travelin passing from the feed opening I34 toward a recessed portion I38 ofthe housing. The recessed portion I38 provides an initial space fordischarge of the prunes, from the pockets so that the prunes do notcontact any of the wall space over which the vanes I28 travel in sealingrelation. This relationship is true in both the intake valve anddischarge valve which are similarly constructed.

As shown best in Fig. 3, the shaft 92 extends beyond the side walls ofthe housing II2. Sprocket 9! is fixed to one end of shaft 92 and thegear H3 is fixed to the other end of said shaft. The shaft H3 issupported by a suitable bearing carried by a bracket secured to theexterior of the casing III of the cooker. The bracket also supports theshaft 58 and the worm I I3 at the discharge end of the cooker.

From the foregoing it will be noted that the drive mechanisms for theintake valve 36, the discharge valve I 2!, and the draper I2 are locatedon the exterior of the casing Ill, the shaft 82 of the draper drivemechanism being detachably coupled to the drive shaft 86 so that when itis desired to remove the draper from the casing in the only part of theapparatus requiring uncoupling is the shaft 86 from the shaft 82.

In operation, prunes are fed in a substantially constant manner to thefeed hopper 44 (Fig. 1) past the intake timing valve 42 into theadjacent feed pocket 33 as the valve 36 rotates. The-travel of thetiming gate 42 is so related to the adjacent feed pocket that it alwaystravels in front of the trailing wall a of the adjacent pocket until thegate reaches the position shown in dotted lines Fig. l, where its loweredge is still spaced slightly from the adjacent wall of the hopper 44 toprevent further flow of prunes and at the same time avoid mashing of aprune caught between the gate and the hopper. The flow of prunes is cutoiT before the pocket is filled completely so that the wall a passes bythe adjacent edge of the wall portion 35 without the possibility of anyprunes being caught between the wall a and the edge of the wall 35.

As seen in Fig. l the adjacent walls of the pockets 38 to the right ofthe feed position are both in sealing engagement with respect to thewall 35 so that a seal is maintained at all times between the pressurespace within the cooker and the feed opening 39. As the feed valvecontinues to travel, the leading wall I) of a pocket will pass intoregistry with the recessed portion SI of the housing before theinclination of the wall 1) becomes such as to cause the falling of anyprunes from the pocket against the wall 35. The prunes, therefore, dropfrom the feed rotor on bars "52 of the draper between the wings 96. Thedraper carries the prunes through an atmosphere of steam under pressurefor subsequent discharge from the cooker.

As seen in Fig. 2, as the prunes fall from the discharge end of thedraper into the hopper IIlI their entry into the pockets I23 of thedischarge valve I2I is controlled by the timing valve I [I3 whichoperates in the same timed relation with respect to the pockets I23 asdescribed in connection with the feed valve. In connection with thistiming, it is especially to be noted'that at its extreme left-handposition the timing valve I03 will first move slowly, then beaccelerated and again move slowly by virtue of the relation of its drivelink I08 to the disc I09 as it travels with the leading wall of thecooperating pocket, so that there is in effect a dwell at the end of thefilling operation of each pocket during which the timing valve I33 is sopositioned as to prevent injury to the prunes. During this dwell, thetrailing wall of the pocket passes into engagement with the wall I31 tocut off the pocket from communication and the return travel of thetiming valve IE3 permits the discharge of any accumulated prunes intothe next oncoming pocket.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

l. A cooker comprising a casing, a removable cover for closing an end ofthe casing, a draper slidably mounted within said casing forinstallation and removal when said cover is removed from the end of thecasing, an intake valve located adjacent the end of said casing throughwhich the draper is adapted to be installed, a discharge valve locatedadjacent the opposite end of the draper, and a hopper in said casingextending upwardly from the discharge valve and having an opening in itsend wall adjacent the inner end of the draper and its side walls cutaway to conform to the inner end of the draper for receiving the sameduring installation and for directing material discharged from saiddraper toward said discharge valve.

2. A cooker comprising a casing, a removable cover for closing an end ofthe casing, a track extending lengthwise of the interior of the casing,a frame mounted on said track for installation and removal by slidingmovement along said track when said cover is removed from the end of thecasing, a draper carried by said frame and movable into and out of saidcasing with the frame, a feed valve located adjacent the end of saidcasing through which the draper is adapted to be installed within thecasing, a discharge valve located at the opposite end of said casing,and means extending upwardly from said discharge valve within theinterior of and stationary with respect to said casing for surroundingthe inner end of the draper for directing material discharged from saiddraper toward said discharge valve, said last named means comprising aU-shaped hopper having its parallel sides so configurated as to receivethe inner end of said draper during installation of the draper into thecasing and to provide sidewall guides for the draper during operation ofthe same.

3. A cooker'comprising a casing, a removable cover for closing an-end ofthe casing, a draper slidably mounted within said casing forinstallation and removal when said cover is removed from the end of thecasing, said draper comprising a pair of parallel chains constitutingarticulated links, a bar extending between each opposite pair "of links,side wings carried by said bars and overlapping longitudinally of thedraper to confine the material to the draper as the draper turns aroundan end portion of its path, an intake valve located adjacent the'end ofsaid casing through which the draper is adapted to be installed in thecasing, a discharge valve located-adjacent the opposite end of thedraper,

and ahopper fixedly mounted within said-casing and havinga walltoreceive and-guide the wings of said draper, said hopper being arrangedto direct the material discharged from said draper toward said dischargevalve.

4. A cooker comprising a casing, a draper removably mounted within saidcasing, longitudinally overlapping side wings mounted on said draper toconfine the material to said draper throughout its entire transportingpath, intake and discharge valves adjacent the opposite ends of saidcasing-and means in said casing for directing the material dischargedfrom said draper toward said discharge valve, said means includingopposed outwardly flared side walls to receive and guide the wings ofsaid'draper when the latter is inserted into said casing.

5. A cooker comprising a casing, a draper removably mounted within saidcasing, said draper comprising a'pair of endless parallel chains eachconstituting articulated links, a bar extending between each oppositepair of links, side wings carried on opposite-ends of said bars andoverlapping longitudinally of the draper to confine the material to thedraper as the draper turns around a curved end portion of its path, anintake valve adjacent one end of said casing, a discharge valve adjacentthe other end of said casing, and means mounted in said casing fordirecting the material discharged from said draper toward said dischargevalve, said material directing means including opposed outwardly flaredside walls for receiving and guiding the side wings of said draper whenthe latter is inserted into said casing.

ALBERT R. THOMPSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record 'in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 734,880 Jorgensen et a1. July 28,1907 1,306,835 Pennock June 17, 1919 1,408,429 Anderson et a1. Mar. 7,1922 1,922,783 Schmidt Aug. 15, 1933 2,213,623 Choppin et al. Sept. 3,1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 370,518 Great Britain Apr. 14,1932

